Athleta easoni: Description. Shell large for genus, with adult shells averaging 67 mm in length; shell moderately heavy and thickened, elongated, distinctly fusiform, with high protracted spire and proportionally-narrow body whorl; shoulder at extreme posterior end of body whorl, angled, bordered by large rounded cordlike carina; subsutural area distinctly flattened, shelf-like; spire whorls rounded in profile, noticeably stepped and scalariform; body whorl sculptured with 32-35 large, very prominent, evenly-spaced spiral cords; shoulder carina cord larger than other body whorl cords, separated from next cord by wide smooth area that is equal in width to 2 body whorl cords; spiral cords on body whorl crossed by numerous fine, low irregular longitudinal growth increments, producing faint beaded appearance on individual cords; shell color uniform pale orange-tan, often stained with rusty red deposits of iron sulfide; parietal area with proportionally-large, tightly-adherent, polished shield that extends outward to cover entire columellar and basal area; aperture proportionally narrow, long, smooth within interior, with some specimens having few scattered small, faint rib-like plicae; columella with 9-10 small tooth-like plicae, with third from anterior end being largest in size; some columellar plicae bifurcate, forming close pair; interior of aperture pale orange-tan, contrasting greatly with pure white color of columellar plicae; outer edge of lip thin, crenulated.
Type Material. HOLOTYPE Length 88.6 mm, width 40.1, LACM 3492; 370 m depth off Walvis Bay, Namibia. Other Material Examined: 2 specimens, length 72.2 mm and width 32.1 mm, and length 70.4 mm and width 30 mm, from the same locality and depth as the holotype, in the research collection of the senior author; 2 specimens, length 80.3 mm and width 38.0 mm, and length 47.5 mm and width 23.3 mm, from the same locality and depth as the holotype, in the research collection of the junior author; 2 specimens, lengths 67.4 mm and 68.5 mm, from the same locality as the holotype, in the collection of Robert Eason, Paris, Tennessee.

Athleta easoni: Athleta easoni has been collected on a regular basis for over a decade now and frequently has been a featured item on many of the commercial shell dealer's price lists and auction sites. Because of its similarity to two or three other southwestern African Athleta species, the new species has often been misidentified as a hybrid between A. abyssicola (Adams and Reeve, 1848) and A. lutosa (Koch, 1948) (referred to as "A. abyssicola X A. lutosa"), or as a hybrid between A. abyssicola massieri Petuch and Berschauer, 2017 and A lutosa (referred to as "A. abyssicola massieri X A. lutosa"). Since the "hybrid" occurs outside the general ranges of both A. abyssicola and A. lutosa, along central and northern Namibia, the probability that this high-spired volute is a cross between these two is very low. Athleta easoni also occurs along with A. abyssicola massieri and no morphological intermediates are known to exist, strongly indicating the validity of this new taxon (Petuch and Berschauer, 2017).

Of the known Namibian athletine volutes, A. easoni is most similar to A. lutosa, which ranges from the Namaqualand coast of southern Namibia to Cape Province, South Africa. Both species share a rough-textured shell sculpture and a distinctly angled shoulder and flattened subsutural area that forms a characteristic shelf. The new species primarily differs from its more southerly congener in being a much narrower, elongated, and less inflated shell and in having a much higher and more protracted spire. Although both species have an approximate number of strong spiral cords on the body whorl, those of A. easoni are uniform in size and shape, while those of A. lutosa are often different in size, with a thinner rib being present between pairs of larger ribs. The columellar plicae also differ greatly between the two volutes, with A. easoni having 9-10 plicae, which often occur in bifurcated pairs, and with A. lutosa having only 5-7 plicae, which are proportionally smaller and generally are simple and not bifurcated. Large specimens of A. lutosa frequently have numerous strong, well-developed ribs along the labial side of the aperture. These interior apertural ribs are generally missing in A. easoni and, if present at all, are very weak and poorly-developed, often confined to the deep interior of the aperture.

Athleta easoni: Type Locality. The holotype was dredged by commercial deep water fishermen from 370 depth off Walvis Bay (Walvisbaai or Whale Bay), Namibia.
Distribution. The new species is confined to deep water areas (300-400 m) off the Namib Desert coast of Namibia, from approximately Terrance Bay in the north to Luderitz in the south. The new species is most commonly collected off the Walvis Bay area.
Ecology. Athleta easoni prefers muddy, organic-rich sea floors in depths of 300-400 m. The reducing, acidic environment produced by these organic sediments allows thick deposits of iron sulfide and manganese sulfide to form on the shell surface, often obscuring the shell sculpture. The new species is part of a rich fauna of deep water mollusks which includes other Namibian endemics such as the umboniid Callumbonella namibiensis, the aporrhaid Aporrhais pesgallina, the large pseudomelatomid Comitas saldanhae, the cypraeid Cypraeorbis namibiensis, the cone shell Sciteconus patens, and the athletine volutes Athleta abyssicola massieri Petuch & Berschauer, 2017 and Athleta disparilis.